Low-fat carrot cake

Okay..first thing's first: this does NOT taste low fat.  No way. Not in the slightest. 
I made this cake for my mom's birthday, and she now wants it every year.  She was complaining about how she can't eat sweets anymore and she had to watch her weight...yadda, yadda, yadda...so I altered a recipe to make it healthier. I could not believe how delicious the results were.  You couldn't tell it was low fat at all.  The only fat in it is the coconut, nuts, and the 2 tablespoons of oil.  And not using cream cheese frosting cut the calories a ton also.  Since there's no butter or cream cheese, it's mostly heart-healthy fats.  Our huge family of 3 ate (joking) this in a mere two days, and we didn't feel guilty at all.  The thing that makes it really unique is the raisins.  They're soaked in orange juice, so they're plump and full of flavor.  The pineapple makes it super moist as well.  And who knew Greek yogurt would taste so good on a cake?  This is definitely one of the healthiest glazes you could make. Just pure maple syrup (I always use 100% real maple syrup.  It truly makes all the difference in the world. Never will I ever go back to Aunt Jemima.) and plain Greek yogurt. Poking holes in the cake when warm and having the glaze seep in the refrigerator makes this so irresistible.


Yield: 2 9-inch cake pans
about 12 servings


Ingredients:
for the carrot cake:

• 4 egg whites + 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
• 1 cup raisins
• orange juice - enough to completely soak the raisins

for the yogurt glaze:

1 1/2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
2. Cover raisins with orange juice in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, simmer for about 10 minutes, until big and plump.  Let cool, and drain.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine egg whites, egg, buttermilk, applesauce, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
5. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
6. Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
7. Pour into prepared pans, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
8. Allow to cool in pans.
9. While cakes are cooling, prepare yogurt glaze by mixing together Greek yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.  When cakes are slightly warm, poke holes in them the using a fork and remove from pans.  Drizzle half of yogurt glaze over cake #1  Place cake #2 on top of cake #1.  Drizzle remaining glaze over cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.